QUICK! i need to know random crap about radiation....?

Question

NOW...in general...how is radio activity used for good and bad!?

Answer 1

By the tone of your question I can assume that you are, in fact, not at all interested in radiation. This leads me to assume that you are asking this question as part of your homework.

First of all, I would like to say this: radiation is not 'crap'. It is fascinating and extremely useful.

Let's start at the basics. If something radiates it emits 'something' from itself. For example, a heater radiates heat. Radiation is the emission of 'something' radially (i.e. in a straight direction away from itself).

I am assuming you are at school and, therefore, are probably asking about ionising (or ionizing if you like Zs) radiation. Ionising radiation at a simple level comes in three types. These types have been named alpha, beta and gamma (the first three letters of the Greek alphabet).

Alpha radiation:
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Alpha radiation is the emission of an 'alpha particle' from an unstable nucleus. Large nucleii tend to be more unstable due to the fact that an equal number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus is not the optimum stability level. The repulsive coulombic force from the protons trues to split the nucleus of an atom apart, whilst the neutrons provide the necessary weak nuclear force to counteract that repulsion. Yes, protons also interact with the weak nuclear force but the neutrons are required for stability. If, however, there are too many neutrons the system becomes unstable (see beta decay).

A large nucleus can randomly emit the alpha particle, reducing the atomic mass and atomic number of the atom. The alpha particle consists of two protons (opposite spins) and two neutrons (opposite spins) and is an extremely stable bosonic particle. The alpha particle is, essentially, a helium nucleus.

Being such a large particle, alpha radiation carries a lot of momentum and can therefore cause a lot of damage to the delicate protein chains in a person's DNA. Luckily, the alpha particle is so large that alpha radiation can not penetrate very deep in a material. In fact, the layer of dead skin that covers your body would be sufficient to block alpha radiation. The danger occurs when an alpha source is introduced into the body (i.e. eaten, inhaled or injected).

Beta radiation
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Beta radiation consists of the emission of a lepton and an antilepton. The antilepton is the neutrino (or antineutrino) and is generally not very important except for the conservation of momentum. More exciting is the leptonic particle (the electron or the positron).

The positron is the antimatter equivelent of the electron. If a neucleus has an abundance of neutrons and, therefore, is unstable, a neutron can decay into a proton. This decay will result in the indirect emission of an electron. This electron carries the -1 charge necessary to maintain charge conservation.

If the nucleus has an abundance of protons causing the instability, a proton can decay into a neutron. This will result in the indirect emission of a positron, carrying the +1 charge away.

Beta radiation is more penetrative than alpha-radiation and can cause massive damage to human tissue.

Gamma radiation
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Gamma radiation is the 'strange cousin' of the ionising radiation family. Unlike the other two types that can be considered as definite particles, gamma radiation is the emission of a photon of extremely high energy/frequency. The frequency of this electromagnetic destrubance can overlap with the frequencies of X-rays. The difference is that X-rays are the result of an electron-orbital disturbance whereas gamma rays are the result of a nucleuonic disturbance.

Gamma radiation ionises atoms by exciting orbiting electrons enough for them to escape the atom all-together. Gamma radiation is extremely penetrative but poses less danger than beta radiation because gamma radiation tends to pass straight through you.

Whenever you get beta or alpha decay there is a chance you will also get gamma decay. The gamma photon carries the excess energy from the nucleus of the atom.

Other interesting stuff
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The PET scans in hospitals make use of beta decay. A radioactive liquid is fed into your system and acumulates in the brain in problem areas. This liquid is chosen to decay by positron emission. When a positron escapes the nucleus it has a chance of colliding with an orbiting electron. This is a very high chance because the two particles are of opposite charge. When the positron and the electron collide they annialate each other, emmiting two high-energy photons that can be detected. These two photons travel in the opposite direction from each-other and can therefore be used to pinpoint the exact location in the brain where a problem is. That is antimatter being used in hospitals NOW.

I hope this is enough random crap about radiation for you.

Answer 2

good will turn you into Spiderman and bad will turn you into Octopus... doh.

:P